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Edmonton Journal (Alberta)
July 16, 2010 Friday
Final Edition
Egoyan working hard on thank-you to film festivals
by Katherine Monk, Postmedia News
FRIDAY MOVIES; Pg. D13
Atom Egoyan is looking at a picture of himself standing next to Sonny
Bono, and reminiscing.
The flashback is not pharmacology-related. Egoyan is thinking about
the bizarre connections and friendships you make on the festival
circuit, an increasingly focused group of filmmakers who are finding
themselves pushed to the fringes once again.
After enjoying two decades in the sun, thanks to the commercially and
critically successful careers of Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan
and Paul Thomas Anderson, independent filmmakers are now looking at a
much different picture. As studios continue to minimize risk while
maximizing returns, the place for new and original voices continues to
shrink.
That's why Egoyan was looking forward to awarding the next Golden
Apricot, top prize at the Yerevan International Film Festival in
Armenia this week, where the Torontobased director will be leading the
jury alongside the likes of one-time Italian bombshell Claudia
Cardinale and director Claire Denis.
It's also why Egoyan is working hard on a new "crazy little movie"
that will be part of the opening festivities for the Bell Lightbox,
the new home of the Toronto International Film Festival when it opens
in September.
Festivals lit the fuse on Egoyan's career with Family Viewing and The
Adjuster. Now, he wants to give back.
"The reality is that (festivals) may well represent the last form of
theatrical exhibition for certain kinds of filmmakers," Egoyan says.
"It used to be you'd go to a festival to make a sale and get a wider
distribution deal. Now, the festival circuit is the means of
distribution."
Egoyan speaks in a matter-of-fact tone. Able to transcend the pettier
concerns of a frequently petty industry, thanks to a sophisticated
world view, trenchant sense of humour and healthy dose of Canadian
humility, Egoyan sees the shifting business model as the result of
technological change and financial trepidation.
"I noticed the shift really started happening in the mid-'90s, when
independent movies became the new American dream," he says.
Egoyan says the romantic ideal of making a movie motivated by personal
expression -- not commercial pressure -- got wound up with the
American ethos and quickly became a beacon for wannabes.
"Very quickly, things became oversaturated," says Egoyan, whose own
career rose above the flood with the success of The Sweet Hereafter.
"(The movement) made people really excited about independent film, but
often without the attendant education (in film)."
Egoyan says filmmakers have to be creative and collaborative if they
want to stay afloat in the tidal pool. He points to Chloe, his last
feature starring Amanda Seyfried, as a case in point.
Chloe was based on a French movie called Nathalie that did well in
Europe, but never made the trans-Atlantic flight with any great
success.
"It was a different movie in a lot of ways, and when I got the script,
I just couldn't abide the ending. The original has (Liam Neeson's)
character going to the house and killing her. That's it."
Without unveiling the end in Egoyan's reel, Seyfried's character does
find a splinter of redemption by the final credits. A young prostitute
who develops a frightening fascination for a female doctor (Julianne
Moore), Chloe could have been a standard femme fatale: hauntingly
beautiful, eerily sexy and absolutely icy in every part of her life
except the boudoir. Egoyan warms her up by seeing Chloe as a social
victim.
"Sex workers have an incredibly difficult job. It's hard to remove
yourself from a moment in order to do the work you need to do ... but
Chloe succumbs to something with Catherine."
When Egoyan cast Seyfried in the part, she was unknown. Mamma Mia! had
yet to hit theatres and Letters to Juliet was still ink in the pot.
"I look like a genius, because she's the hottest actress in the world
right now. But she wasn't well-known. I cast her as Chloe because she
felt real."
For now, Egoyan says he's focused on wrapping 8-1/2 Screens, one of
several shorts commissioned for the Bell Lightbox opening.
"It's a fun project. Guy Maddin is also doing (a short). They've given
me the run of an empty theatre, which is great. The whole facility is
pretty impressive. It's one of the best I've seen of its kind," says
Egoyan of the new multiplex in downtown Toronto. "Expectations are
pretty high. We need this. We need the shared experience of watching
together."
From: A. Papazian
July 16, 2010 Friday
Final Edition
Egoyan working hard on thank-you to film festivals
by Katherine Monk, Postmedia News
FRIDAY MOVIES; Pg. D13
Atom Egoyan is looking at a picture of himself standing next to Sonny
Bono, and reminiscing.
The flashback is not pharmacology-related. Egoyan is thinking about
the bizarre connections and friendships you make on the festival
circuit, an increasingly focused group of filmmakers who are finding
themselves pushed to the fringes once again.
After enjoying two decades in the sun, thanks to the commercially and
critically successful careers of Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan
and Paul Thomas Anderson, independent filmmakers are now looking at a
much different picture. As studios continue to minimize risk while
maximizing returns, the place for new and original voices continues to
shrink.
That's why Egoyan was looking forward to awarding the next Golden
Apricot, top prize at the Yerevan International Film Festival in
Armenia this week, where the Torontobased director will be leading the
jury alongside the likes of one-time Italian bombshell Claudia
Cardinale and director Claire Denis.
It's also why Egoyan is working hard on a new "crazy little movie"
that will be part of the opening festivities for the Bell Lightbox,
the new home of the Toronto International Film Festival when it opens
in September.
Festivals lit the fuse on Egoyan's career with Family Viewing and The
Adjuster. Now, he wants to give back.
"The reality is that (festivals) may well represent the last form of
theatrical exhibition for certain kinds of filmmakers," Egoyan says.
"It used to be you'd go to a festival to make a sale and get a wider
distribution deal. Now, the festival circuit is the means of
distribution."
Egoyan speaks in a matter-of-fact tone. Able to transcend the pettier
concerns of a frequently petty industry, thanks to a sophisticated
world view, trenchant sense of humour and healthy dose of Canadian
humility, Egoyan sees the shifting business model as the result of
technological change and financial trepidation.
"I noticed the shift really started happening in the mid-'90s, when
independent movies became the new American dream," he says.
Egoyan says the romantic ideal of making a movie motivated by personal
expression -- not commercial pressure -- got wound up with the
American ethos and quickly became a beacon for wannabes.
"Very quickly, things became oversaturated," says Egoyan, whose own
career rose above the flood with the success of The Sweet Hereafter.
"(The movement) made people really excited about independent film, but
often without the attendant education (in film)."
Egoyan says filmmakers have to be creative and collaborative if they
want to stay afloat in the tidal pool. He points to Chloe, his last
feature starring Amanda Seyfried, as a case in point.
Chloe was based on a French movie called Nathalie that did well in
Europe, but never made the trans-Atlantic flight with any great
success.
"It was a different movie in a lot of ways, and when I got the script,
I just couldn't abide the ending. The original has (Liam Neeson's)
character going to the house and killing her. That's it."
Without unveiling the end in Egoyan's reel, Seyfried's character does
find a splinter of redemption by the final credits. A young prostitute
who develops a frightening fascination for a female doctor (Julianne
Moore), Chloe could have been a standard femme fatale: hauntingly
beautiful, eerily sexy and absolutely icy in every part of her life
except the boudoir. Egoyan warms her up by seeing Chloe as a social
victim.
"Sex workers have an incredibly difficult job. It's hard to remove
yourself from a moment in order to do the work you need to do ... but
Chloe succumbs to something with Catherine."
When Egoyan cast Seyfried in the part, she was unknown. Mamma Mia! had
yet to hit theatres and Letters to Juliet was still ink in the pot.
"I look like a genius, because she's the hottest actress in the world
right now. But she wasn't well-known. I cast her as Chloe because she
felt real."
For now, Egoyan says he's focused on wrapping 8-1/2 Screens, one of
several shorts commissioned for the Bell Lightbox opening.
"It's a fun project. Guy Maddin is also doing (a short). They've given
me the run of an empty theatre, which is great. The whole facility is
pretty impressive. It's one of the best I've seen of its kind," says
Egoyan of the new multiplex in downtown Toronto. "Expectations are
pretty high. We need this. We need the shared experience of watching
together."
From: A. Papazian